Movable equipment for storing, charging and feeding of granular materials



y 1966 JOACHlM-HANS SIEBENEICHER 3,249,343

MOVABLE EQUIPMENT FOR STORING, CHARGING AND FEEDING OF GRANULARMATERIALS Filed June 5, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYS y 1966JOACHlM-HANS SIEBENEICHER 3,

MOVABLE EQUIPMENT FOR STORING, CHARGING AND FEEDING 0F GRANULARMATERIALS Filed June 5, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR JMC/i/M-HIME@EJEVE/Mfig BY Wad &

ATTORNE y 1966 JOACHlM-HANS SIEBENEICHER 3,

MOVABLE EQUIPMENT FOR STORING, CHARGING AND FEEDING OF GRANULARMATERIALS Filed June 5, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 BY W44 Z ATTORNEYS UnitedStates Patent f MOVABLE EQUIPMENT EOR STORING, CHARG- ggliND FEEDING 0FGRANULAR MATE- Joachim-Hans Siebeneicher, Heidelberg, Germany, assignorto Arbau Bauund Indnstriebedorf 0.H.G., Heidelberg, Germany Filed June3, 1964, Ser. No. 372,263 6 Claims. (Cl. 259-454) This invention relatesto movable equipment for the storing, charging, and feeding of granularmaterials, particularly of mixing compounds for the dressing ofconcrete. The equipment is provided with wheels and is constructed sothat the mixing materials are stored in sectors which are individuallyseparated by walls extendable by matching boards or wings and which areprovided with a discharge opening. These sectors are semicircularlygrouped in front of a joint receiver or feeding device which, in turn,is connected with a scraper unit.

Equipment of this kind, in order to be efficient, is commonly providedwith fully mechanized scrapers. These scrapers are usually mounted uponthe feeding device, or on a special stand, in a construction with atowerlike feeder on its platform. The mounting of such a scraper unit,however, is laborious and time consuming and cannot be executed withouta crane. Also, during the transport of such equipment from oneconstruction site to another the scraper unit cannot remain connected,because the height of the whole device would be excessive.

The invention, therefore, is basically concerned with solving theproblem of attaching a scraper unit in such a way that it can remainpermanently connected with the equipment in order to avoid laboriousdemounting and reassembling. This problem is solved by the invention bymeans of a Scrapper unit provided with a lifting and lowering apparatusinstalled inside the feeding device. The lifting and lowering apparatusfor the scraper unit is provided with a rail guide which is connectedwith the walls of the storage sectors. When these walls are grouped insuch a manner that they include a gate shaft, like in some existingconstructions with a towerlike feeder, for instance, then theinstallation is advantageously constructed in such a way that the endwalls of the storage sectors themselves form the gate shaft to serve asa receptacle for the scraper unit that can be sunk into it and drivenout from it. When it is desired to move the equipment in this kind ofinstallation the scraper unit can be brought from its lifted operatingposition into a resting position that causes no obstacle during thetransportation and, therefore, requires no demounting of the unit.Because the whole equipment is wheeled, no assembly work or additionalmounting means is necessary.

When the walls of the storage sectors are provided with connectionpieces or sector wings for easy attachment of partition walls, it isadvantageous to extend the sectors and thus enlarge the compartments forthe mixing compounds. This can be done in such a manner that the sectorwalls are provided with attachment links for the connection of swingablepartition walls that form pocket-like compartments for the mixingcompounds. With this means, it is not necessary to store the mixingcompounds on the ground level, and because of the attachment of suchswingable partition walls the pocketlike storage compartments can becompletely folded for the transport of the equipment. This makes notonly transportation easy but also saves mounting labor.

The scraper unit is provided with a detachable overhang beam which canbe mounted and demounted with the tackle of the hoist, or winch, thatserves for the lifting and lowering of the scraper. With this operationready mounting as well as transportation is still more simplified.

3,249,343 Patented May 3, 1966 The invention is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings in which:

FIG. '1 is a side view of the whole equipment in operatmg position;

FIG. 2 is a partial side view of a construction differing from thatshown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan View partly of FIG. 1 and partly of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 shows in larger scale a side view of part of the equipment; solidlines showing the operating position and dashed lines showing theposition during transporta-tron;

FIG. 5 is a plan of the equipment shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 shows in larger scale part of the construction of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 7 is a plan view of theconstruction shown in FIG. 6.

In the equipment shown in FIG. 1, the sector end walls 1 are connectedwith the undercarriage or wheel frame 2. As shown in FIG. 3, thesesector end walls 1 form a gate shaft 3. At the upper platform 4 of thesector end walls 1 the scraper head 5 is rotatably mounted so that thevertically movable overhang beam 6 can reach the entire storage space ofthe mixing compounds. At the edges of the sector walls 1 the partitionwalls 7 are attached to form compartments for the mixing compounds. Bymeans of the scraper head 5 and the overhang beam 6 a fully mechanizedscraper tray brings the mixing compounds within the storage compartmentsto the sector end walls where they are piled up in front of thedischarge openings.

As shown in detail in FIGS. 4 and 5, the sector end walls 1, which formthe gate shaft 3, are provided with a sliding guide 8 along which aroller bearing 9 that is attached to the scraper unit head can be movedup and down.

For facilitating the movement of the roller bearing 9 a winch 10 isinstalled at the base of the sliding guide 8. By means of the tackle 11of the winch 10 the roller bearing 9 and with it the scraper head 5 canbe lifted into operating position, as shown in FIG. 4 by solid lines,and lowered into the transport position, as indicated by dashed lines.With the same winch 10 and tackle 11 the overhang beam 6 can be mountedfor operation and detached for transporting. The tackle 11 is guided bythe bracket 12 and rollers 13.

FIGS. 6 and 7 show in detail how the partition walls 7 attached to thesector end walls 1 form pocket-like compartments 14 for the storage ofthe mixing compounds. These pockets are narrow toward the bottom. In theconstruction shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 the end walls 1 are provided withconnection pieces or sector wings 15 for the attachment of the partitionwalls 7. As shown, the connection pieces or sector wings 15 are providedwith special attachment links 15a for the connection of swingable andfoldable partition walls 7 that form the pocket-like compartments 14.

In FIG. 7 the compartments 14 are shown in open operating and foldedtransporting position; dashed lines indicate the folded position.

In the construction of FIGS. 1 to 3 a conveyer belt 16 that servessimultaneously also as weight-batching device is installed in front ofthe storage sector end walls. The mixing compounds discharged from thestorage sectors on the conveyer belt 16 are weighed thereupon andtransported to the mixer 17. The complete arrangement of the equipmentincluding the scale head of the weightbatching apparatus 18, the cementbalance 19 and its scale head 20, as well as the control levers 21 (onelever for each storage compartment) are shown in FIG. 1.

As far as details in the constructions are not described or shown inparticular, they can be supplied in known manner with existing means inthe way appearing most serviceable for the purpose. The form of thepartition walls, their size, number and arrangement can be varied. Forinstance, the sector and partition walls can be arranged to form anangle but can also be put squarely side-*by-side; they can be formed aspart of the construction member, or as an attachment. The sliding guidefor the lifting and lowering apparatus of the scraper unit can beconnected to the sector end walls or can form a separate device. Thesliding guide can be a rail guide, but can be also a telescope-likeconstruction or a sissor jack-like lifting apparatus. The sliding guidecan be operated mechanically, electrically, hydraulically, orpneumatically. Also, the weight-batching and conveying machinery can bevaried in form and detail.

What is claimed is:

1. Movable equipment for the storing, charging and feed of granularmaterials used in the manufacture of concrete comprising a frame havingwheels mounted thereon for transporting said equipment,

a charging and feeding device mounted on said frame,

a plurality of semi-circularly-grouped storage compartments having endwall members, said end wall members being positioned to define a gateshaft, discharge openings in said end wall members communicating withsaid charging and feeding device,

a scraper unit mounted on said frame,

lifting and lowering apparatus coupled to said scraper unit, wherebysaid scraper unit is operable to remove granular materials from saidcompartments to said charging and feeding device, and

means for positioning said scraper unit within said gate shaft when saidmovable equipment is to be transported and for positioning said scraperunit in position on said frame when said equipment is to be operated.

2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the lifting and loweringapparatus is provided with a sliding guide attached to the end wallmembers.

3. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the compartments areformed of detachable sections attached to the end wall members.

4. The combination according to claim 3 wherein the detachable sectionsare foldable and are pivotally coupled to the end wall members.

5. The combination according to claim 1 wherein the scraper unitcomprises a detachably mounted head and overhang beam.

6. The combination according to claim 1 including a mixer fed by a scalehead and a conveyer belt serving simultaneously as a weight-batchingleading from the compartments.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,811,268 10/1957Kayser 259-465 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,278,119 10/l196-1 France. 1,292,1633/1962 France.

360,331 3/ 1962 Switzerland.

IRVING BUNEVICH, Primary Examiner.

CHARLES A. WILLMUTI-I, Examiner.

ROBERT W. JENKINS, Assistant Examiner.

1. MOVABLE EQUIPMENT FOR THE STORING, CHARGING AND FEED OF GRANULARMATERIALS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF CONCRETE COMPRISING A FRAME HAVINGWHEELS MOUNTED THEREON FOR TRANSPORTING SAID EQUIPMENT, A CHARGING ANDFEEDING DEVICE MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME, A PLURALITY OFSEMI-CIRCULARLY-GROUPED STORAGE COMPARTMENTS HAVING END WALLS MEMBES,SAID END WALL MEMBERS BEING POSITIONED TO DEFINE A GATE SHAFT, DISCHARGEOPENINGS IN SAID END WAL MEMBERS COMMUNICATING WITH SAID CHARGING ANDFEEDING DEVICE, A SCRAPER UNIT MOUNTED ON SAID FRAME, LIFTING ANDLOWERING APPARATUS COUPLED TO SAID SCRAPER UNIT, WHEREBY SAID SCRAPERUNIT IS OPERABLE TO REMOVE GRANULAR MATERIALS FROM SAID COMPARTMENTS TOSAID CHARGING AND FEEDING DEVICE, AND MEANS FOR POSITIONING SAID SCRAPERUNIT WITHIN SAID GATE SHAFT WHEN SAID MOVABLE EQUIPMENT IS TO BETRANSPORTED AND FOR POSITIONING SAID SCRAPER UNIT IN POSITION ON SAIDFRAME WHEN SAID EQUIPMENT IS TO BE OPERATED.